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Sunday, January 17, 2016

England and the Aquitaine Part I: Eleanor

“England has gone
downhill ever since she lost the Aquitaine,” a very dear English friend used to
lament. (For those of you who are a bit rusty with dates, that was 1454.) He
was referring mostly to the climate and the wine, of course, and many of you—thinking
of the Glories of the Empire—may vehemently disagree with him. However, the
Aquitaine was immensely important to England in the three hundred years
preceding its final loss and it is strongly associated with three of England’s
most charismatic historical figures: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the
Lionheart and Edward, the Black Prince. I’d like to look more closely at the
importance of the Aquitaine for each of these English icons in three entries,
starting today with Eleanor.

Eleanor in a Medieval Manuscript Illustraton

The importance of
the Aquitaine to Eleanor (as her name suggests) can hardly be underestimated or
overstated. Eleanor was Aquitaine.
She was the unquestioned heiress to the wealthy Duchy, and as such she brought
the Aquitaine with her into the two marriages she contracted. This is an
important point: the Aquitaine was not
her dowry. Ownership of the Aquitaine
did not transfer to her husband at
her marriage; it remained her property or “honor” and could only be transmitted
in her lifetime with her consent—or by force of arms.

To be sure, the
Aquitaine was also a large territory filled with unruly barons and lords
wealthy enough to build castles and maintain mercenaries.Even exceptionally powerful men (e.g. Henry
II, Richard the Lionheart) found it difficult to control the Aquitaine. Frequent uprisings by the
independently-minded lords meant that the rulers of the Aquitaine were almost
perpetually engaged in subduing one rebellious vassal or another, usually by
force of arms.

One of the many powerful castles of Aquitaine

Under the
circumstances it was unreasonable to expect a woman, much less a young maiden
as Eleanor was at the time of her father’s death, to maintain control. The only
way to keep the Duchy together (and paying taxes to the Duke/Duchess) was to
entrust it (and its human incorporation Eleanor) to someone strong enough to
rule with an iron fist. Her father on his deathbed in 1137 decided to entrust
Eleanor and his duchy to the King of France. He sent a secret embassy to the
French King suggesting a marriage between Eleanor and his eldest son and heir,
Louis, and the French King instantly dispatched his prince with a very powerful
escort to secure control of this valuable prize. Just three months after her
father’s death, Eleanor and Louis were married in Bordeaux. Before they reached
Paris, Louis’ father was dead and he was king. At the age of 15 Eleanor was
Queen of France.

That did not
impress her vassals. Indeed, it may have fostered a greater desire for
independence. In any case, true to their nature, some of the lords of Eleanor’s
vast domains rebelled soon afterwards. Louis went to put them down. Note, he
did not do this as King of France, but in his wife’s name. He was her deputy, exercising her authority. He was harsh but
effective.

The Medieval Bridge at Cahors - Not directly in Eleanor's domains, but she claimed the County of Toulouse. Her second husband, Henry of England, captured Cahors and Quercy for her, although he failed to subdue the entire County

Unfortunately, he
next quarreled with one of his most powerful vassals, the Counts of Champagne, allegedly
to secure an advantageous marriage for Eleanor’s younger sister. While
successful, this episode ended badly with people being burnt alive in a church,
an atrocity which haunted Louis the rest of his life. It caused him to become
even more pious than before, and may have largely motivated his desire to “take
the cross” and go to the Holy Land in what would become known as the Second
Crusade. It almost certainly also contributed to increasingly strained
relations between Louis and his bride. On the one hand, Louis may have blamed
Eleanor for the incident (because he was representing her interests), on the
other hand his penitence for the act included wearing hair shirts and increased
religious fervor that can be summed up by a remark attributed to Eleanor to the
effect that she thought she was marrying a king but found herself married to a
monk instead.

It is noteworthy
in this context that when Louis dramatically “took the cross” as Vézeley he was
followed by Eleanor. Although Eleanor did later accompany him on the crusade,
her gesture was not that of a wife declaring her desire to share her husband’s
pilgrimage (although that was very common at the time). Eleanor took the cross
not as Queen of France, but as Duchess of Aquitaine, and in so doing she was
putting pressure on her vassals to follow their liege lord (herself) and join
the crusade. Her gesture was very carefully staged for maximum effect, and
initially at least had the desired effect of inducing many lords and knights from
the Aquitaine to join the crusade.

Medieval Merchant Homes in Cordes - Eleanor's Wealth was based on trade as well as land.

Unfortunately, the
very strength of the Aquitanian contingent led to further strains in Eleanor’s
marriage. In an unfortunate incident while
crossing the mountains of Paphlagonia, the Poitevan/Aquitainian lords moved too
far forward causing a gap to develop between the vanguard and the main body of
troops. The Turks exploited the situation, routed the King’s knights and as
darkness fell King Louis himself was left perched in a tree, his army
apparently annihilated around him. Eventually, the survivors regrouped and the
crusade continued, but there had been many unnecessary casualties and Eleanor (because she commanded those Aquitainian lords)
was blamed.

By the time
Eleanor and Louis reached Antioch, where Eleanor’s uncle was the ruling prince,
Eleanor wanted to escape her marriage. Whether she had an affair with her uncle
or not (and it seems highly unlikely to me), Louis felt compelled to use force
to remove her from Antioch.Even after
their return to France and a public reconciliation brokered by the pope, the
marriage was not salvageable. After the birth of a second daughter to Eleanor
in 1150, court opinion also swung against her. Churchmen now, after 15 years of
marriage, conveniently remembered she was too closely related to Louis for a
valid marriage. The marriage was annulled.

Romanesque Sculpture at the Abbey of Moissac already in place in Eleanor's time

What this meant
was that Eleanor was no longer Queen of France, but she was still Duchess of Aquitaine. As such, she
was the most valuable single woman on the continent of Europe. The very trip
from Paris back to Poitiers (one of her favorite residences) was fraught with
dangers, and any man who could seize her and then force her to marry him stood
to win the richest province of France. Both the heir to the Count of Blois,
Theobald, and the younger son of the Count of Anjou, Geoffrey, laid ambushes
for Eleanor, but she evaded both. Obviously, however, she needed to remarry as
rapidly as possible or live in constant fear of such assaults. She might be 30
rather than 15, but she still needed—as her father had foreseen—a powerful
husband who could both fight off other suitors and keep her unruly barons under
control.

It is appealing
to imagine that Eleanor could now marry whom she pleased, but that was not the
case. She still incorporated the Aquitaine and her marriage as a mature woman
of 30, no less than as a maiden of 15, had to be a dynastic one designed to
ensure the preservation of her inheritance and the continuation of her house.
That was what noblemen (and women) were concerned about in the 12th
century. Emotions did not play a dominant role. That said, there is some
evidence that Eleanor had met —and been attracted to— her next husband. Then
again, having been a queen, she may have been as attracted to his prospects of
becoming King of England (and so making her a queen again) as to the man
himself. In any case, her choice—and it was her choice, even if it was not
based on her affections—fell on Henry of Anjou, soon to be King Henry II of
England, the first of the Plantagenet kings.

Henry’s reasons
for marrying Eleanor were unquestionably political. He gained the vast wealth
of Aquitaine (and Eleanor’s other possessions of Poitou, Angouleme, Limousin,
Perigord, etc.), and with this one stroke (that cost not a single life) he
placed his overlord, the King of France, in check. It was decades before the
Kings of France could make serious trouble for the Angevins again. Whether
Henry found Eleanor, who was 11 years older, the mother of two girls, and had a
sullied reputation, attractive is a moot point. Then again, there is considerable
evidence that he found Eleanor very much to his liking.

In any case, the
early years of Eleanor and Henry’s marriage appear to have been harmonious.
They produced no less than eight children, and after so singularly failing to
produce a male heir for Louis of France, Eleanor gave Henry five sons, four of
whom lived to adulthood. The turbulent relationships that eventually developed
between Henry, Eleanor and these sons are, however, beyond the focus of this
essay.

For whatever her
feelings, Eleanor remained Aquitaine, and it was this fact that shaped so much
of what was to come. In 1159, after Henry had been King of England roughly five
years and restored good governance there after decades of civil war, he—apparently
bored—decided to assert Eleanor’s claims to Toulouse. After initial successes,
his attempt was foiled by the arrival of King Louis of France in the city of
Toulouse when Henry was about to lay siege to it. Louis was still his liege
lord so attacking Toulouse under the circumstances would technically have been
treason. Pressing Eleanor’s claim to
Toulouse wasn’t worth it to him. He did, however, loyally put down rebellions
against Eleanor in 1166-1168, including that led by the Lusignans (in which,
famously, Eleanor was nearly taken captive and William Marshal won her
gratitude.) It was during this period, however, that Eleanor returned to
Poitiers and took up residence there.

Eleanor's Palace at Poitiers

Far from going
there against Henry’s wishes, the move was apparently instigated by
the king himself. England was at peace and well administered, but Eleanor’s
territories were restless. She had already proved a highly able deputy for him
elsewhere, so why not in the land of her birth? Thus, while Henry was occupied
putting down a rebellion in Brittany, Eleanor was engaged in getting
reacquainted with her own vassals. By 1168, however, the move to Poitiers had
become a formal “separation.” Eleanor had decided to stay in Poitiers—whether
Henry liked it or not.

Various reasons
have been given for this decision: Henry’s affair with Rosamund Clifford, the
fact that Eleanor had probably reached menopause (she was now 46), while Henry
was still a virile 35, or simply that she and Henry, two strong personalities,
quarreled too much. Other possible reasons include the fact that Richard had
just been designated her heir, his elder brother having been given England,
Normandy and Anjou, and it made sense to introduce Richard to his inheritance
and future vassals; who could do that better than Eleanor herself? Or Eleanor
might simply have discovered that she preferred the climate, cuisine and
culture of her native Aquitaine over the fast-paced and notoriously Spartan
lifestyle of her over-active husband. All these factors may have played a role.
Furthermore, the “break” between Eleanor and Henry at this stage should not be exaggerated.
Eleanor was entrusted with control over her domains, and her children visited
her here. Eleanor was still occasionally called upon to act as Henry’s deputy
elsewhere, for example in Normandy in 1170. Henry and Eleanor also went on pilgrimage
together after Henry suffered a serious illness which caused him to think he was
on his deathbed.

Poitiers Cathedral

Yet in 1173, when
Henry the Young King rose in rebellion against his father with the support of
King Louis (who had waited a long time for his revenge!), Eleanor threw in her
lot with her son rather than her husband. She allegedly encouraged both Richard
and Geoffrey, who were residing with her at the time, to join the Young King. She
also encouraged her vassals to rebel against Henry’s rule, and when Henry sent
her a warning to desist or face excommunication (for treason), she tried to
flee to the French court. She never made it. She was apprehended by men loyal
to her husband and turned over to him. She spent the next ten years as his prisoner.

After the death
of Henry the Young King in 1183, however, Henry did allow her to travel and
even preform ceremonial functions (under close surveillance).With the young king dead, Henry wanted to
redistribute his territories. Since Richard was now the heir apparent to the
paternal inheritance of England, Normandy and Anjou, he wanted to give his
favorite son (the only legitimate son had not yet rebelled against him) the Aquitaine.
But Henry couldn’t do that because it didn’t belong to him. It was Eleanor’s.
And she refused to disinherit Richard for John. The only way Henry could get
Richard to relinquish the Aquitaine was to order him to resign it to Eleanor
herself. This Richard dutifully did in 1185, and for the next two years Eleanor was
master of her own territories again —under Henry’s watchful guidance.

By 1187, however,
Richard was chaffing under his father’s dominance and frustrated by not having
been officially named heir—despite renouncing the Aquitaine. He formally broke
with his father by making a great show of going to Paris, where he was received
with open arms by the French King — now Louis’ son Philip II.The French King’s interest was obvious:
weakening and humiliating Henry II of England, his father’s greatest rival. Henry,
apparently suspecting that Eleanor might again side with her son — in this case
her favorite son — against him, sent Eleanor back to England and
confinement. When Richard became king two years later while in open rebellion
against his father, his first act was to order the release of his mother and to
appoint her his regent in England.

Historical Re-enactment of Richard the Lionheart in Aquitaine

Curiously, in a
way, it was with Richard’s ascension to the throne that Eleanor’s association
with Aquitaine weakened. Richard’s attention was focused on the Holy Land for
the first four years of his reign, and after his release from captivity he had
his hands full fighting off Philip II’s tenacious attempts to wrench his
continental possessions from him. Eleanor supported him more in England than in
Aquitaine because that was where Richard needed her most. Although she remained
Duchess of Aquitaine until her death, her ability to exert her authority there
had faded. In 1202, at the age of 80, she took the veil at Frontevault Abbey,
and in 1204 she died there.

Eleanor of Aquitaine's Tomb at Fontevrault. I love the fact she is shown reading a book!

And the
Aquitaine? As her heir, John inherited it at her death—and lost almost all of
it before his reign was over.

* All photos in this entry (except the medieval manuscript illustration at the top) were taken by the author in 1993.

Helena Schrader is the currently writing a three part biography of Balian d’Ibelin, a contemporary of Eleanor. The first two books in the series, Knight of Jerusalem and Defender of Jerusalem, were released in 2014 and 2015 respectively. You can find out more about them and the Crusader Jerusalem at http://defenderofjerusalem.com and more about all of Helena Schrader’s books at: http://helenapschrader.com.

4 comments:

I love your post and wonderful images. I read the biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine years ago and still remember much of it, though not nearly what you recounted here. I was vastly impressed by her intelligence, determination, and refusal to be subjugated. She was an outstanding woman for her time period, perhaps for any time. She wasn't, however, particularly tenderhearted, as I recall. But did dote on her children, especially her favorites. I think she could not afford what she must have considered the luxury of being a deeply compassionate person with so much to defend herself against. It's such a different world she lived in. Thanks for this engrossing glimpse into her life. I also love that she is depicted in death with a book!

I love your post and wonderful images. I read the biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine years ago and still remember much of it, though not nearly what you recounted here. I was vastly impressed by her intelligence, determination, and refusal to be subjugated. She was an outstanding woman for her time period, perhaps for any time. She wasn't, however, particularly tenderhearted, as I recall. But did dote on her children, especially her favorites. I think she could not afford what she must have considered the luxury of being a deeply compassionate person with so much to defend herself against. It's such a different world she lived in. Thanks for this engrossing glimpse into her life. I also love that she is depicted in death with a book!

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